WSU engineers develop improved tracking tool for animal clinic

Wichita State University is collaborating with Spay Neuter Kansas City (SNKC) to research, evaluate and improve a technology used by the clinic to track animals.

SNKC, a nonprofit organization, attends to several animals on a daily basis using microchip implants to easily identify them, but the current technology is inefficient.

The microchip readers on the market merely display without the option to easily transfer data from one system to another.

Seeking a technical solution with the capability to print identification numbers as a barcode, Michelle Rivera, executive director of SNKC, consulted with Crissa Cook, a patent attorney who works with WSU Ventures. Familiar with Wichita State’s technical expertise and resources, Cook introduced Rivera to WSU Ventures.

“With the incredible amount of talent in the College of Engineering, we knew there would be someone in electrical engineering willing to tackle the problem,” said Becky Hundley, director of intellectual property for Wichita State.